Homesteading 



tiller of the soil, staying in town, and thus cut 

 off from his usual healthy interests and avoca- 

 tions, take a good deal too much to drink. 



I fear the above remarks may seem unkind 

 towards many enterprising and worthy town- 

 dwellers, from some of whom I have myself 

 received help and consideration. My object, how- 

 ever, in referring to the matter is to give a true 

 impression from the point of view of the agri- 

 cultural settler, and while it is, of course, neces- 

 sary for him to have centres for supply and dis- 

 tribution, it is to be feared there are often agencies 

 at work in these towns through which he is 

 exploited and plundered, and his great need in 

 the early stages of settlement makes him an easy 

 prey to such agencies. More on this matter may 

 appear later, but let us now see about getting 

 rid of our load of wheat. 



I had arrived too late in the evening for this, 

 but having seen to the oxen (for you do this 

 yourself in the livery barn) and then breakfasted 

 on the following morning, I set out to make 

 inquiries. Two high, square, wooden tower-like 

 erections which I knew to be grain elevators 

 stood on the other side of the railroad. They 

 were painted a sort of dull chocolate red, but 

 large white letters advertised each as belonging 

 to a certain elevator company. Now, in theory 



i66 



